by Dario Salvi

The ruling junta, the Rohingya issue that emerged during Pope Francis' visit in 2017, the riches of the territory and the violence of the military. Lights and shadows of a nation born in the same year as the cardinal. The call to fight ‘hatred and division’, the moderate face in domestic politics and attacks on Beijing for violations of rights and religious freedom, as in the arrest of Cardinal Zen.

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - ‘The only war we need to fight is against hatred and division,’ a demon that does not even spare Christians in Myanmar, so much so that one wonders: ‘Can we also identify ourselves with a cultural identity similar to a caste or to all other identities? Can we give in to the temptation to treat others on the basis of identities that are constructed by human hands, when we are all children of God created in his image?’

In these few sentences, spoken last March during the homily for the episcopal ordination of the new auxiliary bishop of Yangon, Cardinal Archbishop Charles Maung Bo encapsulates the drama of a nation torn apart by ethnic and religious conflicts and tensions.

The cardinal, president of the Bishops' Conference, is among the Asian electors at the Conclave that begins on 7 May and brings with him the challenges of mission in a fragile and unstable country: from the military that overthrew the democratic government in February 2021 and seized power, to the confessional powder keg between the Buddhist majority and minorities, particularly the Rohingya in the western state of Rakhine.

Cardinal Bo, a Salesian and former president of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC) until last January, was born on 29 October 1948 in the village of Monhla, archdiocese of Mandalay. He studied at the Nazareth Seminary in Anisakan, Pyin Oo Lwin, from 1962 to 1976. He took his temporary vows on 24 May 1970 and his perpetual vows on 10 March 1976.

He was ordained a priest in Lashio (Shan State) on 9 April 1976. After serving as parish priest from 1976 to 1981 in Loikham and Lashio, he was assigned to the seminary in Anisakan as a formator from 1983 to 1985, then apostolic administrator in Lashio from 1985 to 1986 and apostolic prefect from 1986 to 1990. When the prefecture was elevated to a diocese (7 July 1990), he was appointed its first bishop and consecrated on 16 December.

On 13 March 1996, Pope John Paul II appointed him bishop of Pathein, in the Ayeyarwady region. On 24 May 2003, he became archbishop of Yangon, where he took up his duties on 7 June 2003. On 21 October 2015, he became the first Burmese bishop to take up the title of cardinal.

Born in the same year that Myanmar, formerly Burma, became an independent state, the cardinal experienced first-hand the suffering of a people still under the yoke of military dictatorship.

This is one of the reasons why his approach to domestic politics has always been ‘moderate’, maintaining channels of dialogue with the generals and urging priests and men of the Church not to get involved in riots or protests against the regime, especially at the time of the ‘Saffron Revolution’ in 2007.

Nevertheless, he did not fail to make his voice heard on human rights, religious freedom and dialogue between different faiths, calling for peace and justice.

After receiving his cardinal's hat, the cardinal reiterated his desire to be ‘the voice of those who have no voice’. At the same time, he has been critical of Beijing – including as president of the FBC – defending Catholic activists in Hong Kong, condemning the arrest of Cardinal Joseph Zen and calling for justice and religious freedom.

While attacking the Chinese communist leadership, he has never disavowed the provisional agreement between China and the Vatican signed in 2018 and recently renewed.

As an expression of the growing Asian clergy, coming from a reality where Catholics are a minority unlike in the Philippines, the cardinal shares traits with Benedict XVI and Francis, especially in matters of synodality and mercy.

In an interview with AsiaNews in 2015, a few weeks after receiving his cardinal's hat and on the eve of the first ‘free’ elections, he highlighted the lights and shadows of a nation that would experience other tragedies in the following 10 years, including a new military coup and the recent earthquake.

‘In many parts of the world, democracy is a political activity. In Myanmar, democracy,’ explained Cardinal Bo, “is a sacred pilgrimage” and a “challenge to all hegemony. Jesus” journey to Calvary was marked by tribulations, doubts and frequent setbacks.’

He described Myanmar as ’rich, recently opened to the outside world and experiencing episodes of outright looting. In the last four years of so-called ‘democracy’ [between 2012 and 2015, ed.], 30% of the forests have disappeared.

According to some studies, jade and precious stones worth at least billion left Myanmar in one year,’ confirming a critical situation even in a phase of relative freedom. A country ‘still among the highest in infant mortality. And those who have learned to steal,’ he said, ‘will certainly not set out to learn a more noble profession in the future. I do not think that the circles of malfeasance and their masters will disappear. These people are slaves to neighbouring nations, selling their well-being for money. A true federal system, capable of promoting a community based on the sound management of natural resources, is the only viable path to peace and environmental justice,’ the cardinal hoped.

Finally, Cardinal Bo never failed to emphasise the colourful mosaic that makes up Myanmar, even though it has been a source of conflict and religious violence. ‘Myanmar has a rich and elegant tradition linked to Theravada Buddhism. There are about 500,000 monks and 70,000 Buddhist nuns in the country.

They are a source of inspiration and life dedicated to renunciation and compassion. Metta and Karuna (mercy and compassion) are the two eyes of the true Buddha. Unfortunately, there are also merchants of hate who abuse religion and seek to exploit it for political gain. Sowing hatred and discriminating against people on the basis of their faith is not part of Buddhism,’ he said.

This was a reference, albeit unnamed, to the persecution of the Rohingya Muslim minority, which remains a sensitive issue in the country. Moreover, during Francis' apostolic journey to Myanmar in 2017, the cardinal himself had invited the pope not to use the term “Rohingya” because it was controversial and linked to unresolved ethnic and territorial disputes, preferring the definition “Muslims of the Rakhine territory”.